English III · A1.3. National Autonomous University of Honduras, Faculty of Humanities and Arts, Department of Foreign Languages, English Section. PhD. Bessy Mendoza, MSc. Leonel Madrid. Students planning together on campus, with the flag of Canada, autumn maple leaves, mountains and Toronto.
English III · Lesson 7 · Step 1 of 5

URA + SofIA: Lesson URA and SofIA assistants

Resource · not graded
What you bring
From Lesson 6 (At the clinic): your product, your glossary and «I can understand label instructions.»
What this prepares you for
The forum asks you to use Past simple: was / were + regular verbs with your classmates.

Goal of the lesson

I can talk about a past trip or vacation.

Puedo hablar de un viaje o vacaciones en el pasado.

Open the URA of Lesson 7 · I PAC

The URA has the explanation, audio, examples by career and the Cultural Corner of the I PAC. Take notes: you will use them in the forum.

Past simple: was / were + regular verbs

was / were: It was great. We were at the beach. Regular verbs + -ed: visited, walked, stayed. Time: last year · two weeks ago · in 2025.

Example
wasThe weather was hot.
wereThe people were very friendly.
-edWe visited a museum and walked on the beach.
TimeLast summer · three months ago · in December
En español

Pasado de «be»: was (I, he, she, it) / were (you, we, they). Verbos regulares: -ed. «Ago» va después: «two years ago» (hace dos años).

Your AI assistants: SofIA

Recommended for this lesson: SofIA Gramatical, about was / were, past simple regular verbs and time expressions. SofIA asks your name, your career and your lesson, then helps you step by step. It explains, gives hints and helps you create your own mini-lesson, flashcards or practice. It never does graded work for you.

Available: SofIA Gramatical · SofIA Léxica · SofIA Fonética · SofIA Comunicativa · SofIA Profesional · SofIA Cultural.

Open SofIA for Lesson 7 · I PAC

Your career, your examples

I PAC · January – MayHolidayMonday, February 15Canada

Cultural Corner · National Flag of Canada Day

This week: The maple leaf flag was raised on February 15, 1965. What did people do that day? Write 4 sentences in the past.

The maple leaf flag was raised for the first time on February 15, 1965. Before that, Canada used a different flag. Next February, schools are going to celebrate it again.

Key words

  • flag bandera
  • maple leaf hoja de arce
  • raise izar

Fact

The flag is red and white, with a red maple leaf. Flag Day is not a day off: people work and study.

Your career

  • Health sciences: Symbols on hospitals and ambulances.
  • Engineering & technology: Flag design and colours.
  • Business & economics: National symbols on products.
  • Education, humanities & communication: What symbols say about a country.
  • Environment, agriculture & tourism: The maple tree in Canadian forests.
Mirror Honduras. When is Flag Day in Honduras? What colours and symbols does the Honduran flag have?

Official source

Mission: Find the year of the first maple leaf flag. Write one sentence in the past.

Cultural competency: I can say what Flag Day is (Monday, February 15), use Past simple: was / were + regular verbs to talk about it, and compare it with Honduras.

See it in my I PAC Cultural Passport

Language bridge · plurilingual and intercultural

Use every language you know to learn English, and use English to understand other people.

English ↔ SpanishNotice the difference

was / were = fue, estuvo, era, estaba. Spanish has two past tenses; the English past simple often covers both.

Other languagesFrench · Portuguese · Italian · German

Regular past: -ed (EN) · -te (DE: ich machte) · j'ai visité (FR, with «have»).

Observe, compare, reflectIntercultural

In Canada, December is winter and July is summer. Canada Day is on July 1. Which dates are holidays for you?

Mediation challengeBuild a bridge for someone

Tell a friend, in Spanish, about a classmate's past trip.

Your languages count: ask at home or in your community how to say it in Garífuna, Miskitu, the English of the Bay Islands or any other language you know, and add it to your glossary. Add it to «My languages» in your Passport →

Arts Corner · MusicSaskatchewan, Canada · born 1943

Joni Mitchell

Joni Mitchell (singer and painter)

Joni Mitchell is a Canadian singer, songwriter and painter. She was born in Alberta and grew up in Saskatchewan.

You use it in: 2 · Forum · Activity 23

Para docentes

Fuente de datos: data/source/in103_lessons.js (lección 7). Ingreso al UNAH Virtual Campus: data/links.json. H5P (práctica del sitio y calificado del Campus): data/h5p/. Anuncios: data/anuncios.json. Títulos y porcentajes según el Calendario. Inglés I: 12 lecciones (decisión de la Sección, 26-10-2026); las actividades 1–38 no cambian. Regenerar con python3 generator/build.py.